


Lights, Tacos & Kisses Too?

by joanc24



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Bounty Hunter!Derek, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff and Humor, Friends to Lovers, M/M, Spark!Stiles, cop!Stiles
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-11
Updated: 2016-11-11
Packaged: 2018-08-30 10:36:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,248
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8529790
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/joanc24/pseuds/joanc24
Summary: "Stiles, why is there a fake Christmas tree here?"
He looks over at the closet door and it's met with total silence.
"November just started, you know." Derek lets the judgment bleed into every word.
Stiles keeps quiet, no movement at all. He worries he's not even breathing when suddenly the scent of embarrassment hits him and that intrigues him. Stiles wouldn't be that much embarrassed about getting a jumpstart on his Christmas decorations, unless...





	

Derek doesn't hesitate to sprint up the stairs to Stiles' apartment in the fourth floor. He can already hear the familiar heartbeat from the second floor, paired with annoyed grunts and angry mutterings. He bangs on Stiles' door as soon as he reaches it but gets no response.

"Stiles? Open up." 

Derek can hear him shuffling around but he's not getting any closer to the front door.

He bangs on the door again and yells, "I can hear you moving, now open up!"

"I'm busy!", comes Stiles muffled shout.

He slides the key to the door out of his pocket and shouts back, "I'm coming in!" 

"Don't break my door, you heathen!" Stiles panicked voice comes from the living room and Derek follows it after closing the door behind him.

"Don't need to when I got a key." He wiggles it in the air to make sure Stiles can hear it clashing with the Mets keychain the Sheriff pairs it with.

He enters the living room only to find it empty of Stiles, but he can still hear him.

"Why do you have a key?" Stiles' muffled voice is coming from inside the coat closet? "Only my dad and Scott have one."

Derek shakes his head at the ridiculousness of the setting and leans on the wall next to the door to speak,"Your dad gave me his and told me to check up on you since you asked for some time off from work, which you never do unless you are dying.", Derek gives the door an odd look, "Are you dying?"

Stiles scoffs, "Clearly not."

"Not really all that clear since you locked yourself in your closet and smell anxious."

"I'm reorganizing." Stiles mutters, "People do that, Hale."

Derek chuckles, "People, yeah. You?" He looks towards the books laying around the coffee table and on the couch, also the overflowing garbage can in the kitchen and shakes his head with a smirk, "Not so much, Stilinski."

"Fuck you." Stiles whispers even knowing Derek can hear him perfectly.

"Are you going to come out? Again?" Derek cringes at that awful attempt at a joke but then smiles when he hears Stiles choke on a laugh from inside his hiding spot.

"Wolf's got jokes, har har."

Derek pauses for a bit before deciding to let Stiles come out when he likes. Stiles doesn't smell that anxious or sad anymore, at least.

Derek moves over to the couch in front of the tv, pushing away some books and files laying around and grabs the remote to settle down, "Fine, I'll just sit here and catch up on Game of Thrones."

An indignant squeak comes from the closet followed by Stiles shouting, "Don't you dare use my profile on Netflix and screw up my list! Use Scott's."

Derek can see the doorknob turn a bit and tries to bait him, "Make me."

"You son of a wolf," Stiles says through clench teeth before loudly saying. "Whatever, douche."

The knob stops twitching then a soft thump follows it as if Stiles knocked his head against the door.

Derek chuckles and switches his attention to the tv to open up Netflix, choosing Stiles profile on purpose and was planning on playing something on his list loudly just to aggravate him when he catches sight of something very green and leafy in the corner of the room.

"Stiles, why is there a fake Christmas tree here?"

He looks over at the closet door and it's met with total silence.

"November just started, you know." Derek lets the judgment bleed into every word.

Stiles keeps quiet, no movement at all. He worries he's not even breathing when suddenly the scent of embarrassment hits him and that intrigues him. Stiles wouldn't be that much embarrassed about getting a jumpstart on his Christmas decorations, unless...

"You're tangled up with lights and shit, aren't you?"

Another thump against the door - yes, that's definitely his head- before whispering, "I fucking hate you."

Derek tries to hold in the laughter that threatens to bubble up his throat at the image playing out in his head so as to not discourage Stiles to come out.

"Get over here and I'll help you without judging too much."

It took a minute before the knob turns and Stiles pokes his head out with a deadpan expression daring Derek to laugh at his predicament. Derek did his best at innocently ignoring the amounts of rope lighting around Stiles' arms and red and green tinsel stuck in his hair and clothes.

Stiles softly comes to sit next to Derek on the couch and raises his arms a bit without a word or look to Derek who tries to not laugh by biting his lips and coughing a bit. 

Derek starts slowly unraveling the lights from Stiles' arms, completely ignoring the fact that Stiles is only wearing a gray tank that shows off his lithe muscles and countless moles, and quietly says, "Can I ask what brought this on? You usually wait till after thanksgiving to decorate."

Stiles' shoulders drop a bit and his eyes fix on the floor with a frown before sighing and turning to look at Derek's hands untwisting the lights off of him and shrugging.

"Just needed something to do with my hands. Thought it might cheer me up, I guess. I don't really want to talk about it." He looks up at Derek on that last part with a pleading stare to let it go, so Derek does.

"Why is there tinsel in your hair?" He asks with a playful smile as he ruffles Stiles unruly hair and plucks some out from behind Stiles' ears.

Derek doesn't notice how close he got till he looks down to Stiles' face and notices his rosy cheeks and the gold flecks amongst the brown in his wide eyes. Stiles coughs awkwardly and stands up to shimmy off the remaining lights on him to pick them up and dumped them all on a box sitting next to the tree.

"Scott absolutely sucks at putting away the decorations properly and mixed them with the lights in this box." Stiles straightens up and shoves his hands in the pockets of his navy sweatpants nervously, "Not that I don't love the guy, you know, but I'm really glad he moved in with Kira."

Derek laughs, "Promise I won't tell."

"Umm, thanks." Stiles moves over to the couch to sit again only to straighten up again and point behind Derek, "Huh, ok, want anything from the kitchen?"

It was then that Derek remembers he hasn't had dinner yet and gets an idea, "Actually, I was going to suggest heading over to Julio's for some tacos. You in?"

"Oh man, yes! I love those." 

Derek knows, he's found Stiles at Julio's after many failed dates and stressful days. 

Stiles once told him while drunk that tacos were for bad days and curly fries for good days. A tradition he used to share with his mom. Of course, Derek's never told him he knows.

After Stiles changed clothes for the cold weather they set out to walk over to the food truck by the community park, it's just three blocks away and the weather feels nice and mellow. They walk side by side in silence until they enter the park's trails to reach the truck.

Stiles asks,"Not that I mind, but how come Dad sent you? He usually calls Scott."

"I was at the Station earlier delivering a perp and noticed you weren't on your usual shift. The Sheriff said you took a few days off and I offered to check up you after hearing how worried he was."

"Who would think the tough bounty hunting werewolf was just a giant soft marshmallow?"

Had it been anybody else describing Derek like that would've been on the receiving end of his murderous glare and probably loose a limb or two, but this was Stiles. After everything they've been together Derek can honestly say that Stiles is important to him, that he cares for him, just don't ask him to specify how much.

"Promise you won't tell?" Derek teases back with a playful wink.

"Sure, dude. Lips sealed and cross my heart." Stiles chuckles and mimes zipping his lips and crossing his heart over his chest.

The scent of food draws them in and they hurriedly get in line to order. Once their order is up, they sit on one of the tiny tables the food truck has scattered close by for customers.

Derek isn't sure what he enjoys more right now, the great food and company or the way Stiles' scent has shifted to less anxiety and more content. It took years and lots of encounters to happen in order for their trust to build back and Derek is grateful to have him in his life.

Once Stiles finishes his food and leans back on his chair he asks, "Why don't you just join the force? We could really use someone like you, dude. If an all powerful spark like my handsome self can go unnoticed I bet, a werewolf can too. We could be partners!"

Derek pretends to think about it before saying, "Locked in confined space for hours listening to you talk endlessly, wearing a stuffy uniform and fill out paperwork for hours, sounds like a dream." 

He meant to make it sound sarcastic and playful but immediately regrets it when Stiles' anxiety comes back again.

Stiles looks down at the table and starts playing with a straw wrapper, "Maybe I should become a bounty hunter or a librarian. I miss having time to read."

"You love being a cop, Stiles."

"I do, but recently it's been a bit...I don't know, man."

Derek pauses for a second, trying not to rush him. before asking, "Still don't want to talk about it?"

Stiles sighs defeated, "Last week we got a call about a domestic abuse two blocks from where Jones and I were parked, so we called in. When we got to the house we found a woman pretty beat up and unconscious." Stiles still won't look up from the paper in his hands, jaw clenched and eyebrows furrowed, "There was yelling coming from one of the rooms and I was closest to it so I went in to investigate, when I opened the door I was rushed by who I thought was an armed man but it was a tall kid with a crowbar, he attacked me and I-" He takes a deep breathe and finally looks straight at Derek with tears pooling in his eyes, "I almost shot him, Derek."

Derek kept silent, giving him time to let it all out. He hoped his expression wasn't closed off and Stiles could feel reassured with him.

Stiles sniffled and rubbed his eyes clear of tears, "He was just a kid, 15-year-old, and I almost put a bullet on his head. I know I was just doing my job. I know I followed protocol well and everything turned out alright. But, it got to me. I just can't help picturing him with a bullet hole on his forehead made by me. It's just stupid to be going through this when I've already gone through so many horrible things."

Derek's chest hurts at seeing Stiles' devasted form and reaches to hold his hands on top of the table to comfort him. Stiles looks down at their hands and sighs a breath of relief that he could air out his guilt and wandering thoughts freely.

Derek traces his thumbs softly on Stiles', "Don't belittle your fears just because you've faced worse. Any and every fear affects one differently."

Stiles gives him a small smile, "Thanks, big guy. I think I just need to think some things through."

Derek clenches his hands with Stiles' one last time before standing up and gesturing to Stiles to follow him back to the apartment. Stiles nods and moves to walk beside him through the park trails where they came from earlier.

As they walked Stiles kept quiet, focused on his steps, eyebrows still furrowed.

Derek cleared his throat, "Have you thought about changing careers before that happened?"

"I think so, yeah." He looks at Derek with a shrug of his shoulder, "But, it was more like a passing thought like seeing firemen and thinking how their work life is? Is it more exciting? More fun?"

"Is that what you're looking for? Something more thrilling?"

Derek could see how a monotonous routine could easily drive Stiles mad. Ever since he met the younger boy he could sense an unlimited source of energy radiate through him. It's what kept him going, what saved his life and many others, it's his spark. The will and belief that he could do what no other believed could be possible. It was Stiles.

"I guess so, I mean, I love being a cop, but Beacon Hills is just not that active. In a way is great because there aren't people getting hurt left and right, or strange creatures terrorizing but at the same time I'm usually handing out tickets or filling out paperwork."

"Have you consider moving? Maybe somewhere more suited for your expertise. Heck, with your resume you could be a detective." Derek suggested wholeheartedly, yet it also made him nervous.

Stiles stopped walking and held onto Derek's arm to stopped him also. He wasn't looking at Derek, his whole face looked conflicted. Derek let him gather his thoughts and waited.

Stiles looked at Derek and said softly, "But I don't want to leave my home, my family, my pack."

Derek smiles as he rests a hand on Stiles' shoulder, "It doesn't matter where you end up, you'll always have all that." He moves his hand to the back of Stiles' neck and squeezes, "You'll figure it out."

"What if I move to New York? That's across the state!", Stiles flails his arms in the air enunciating his loud voice.

Derek shrugs, "I still own an apartment I used to share with Laura you could use."

Stiles lowers his voice again, "But, it'd be alone."

Derek bites his lip and takes a gulp of air to settle his rising nerves at what he's about to do. He's been thinking about it for months, he just never thought to the how and when to act on his feelings. 

"Not if you don't mind a grumpy roommate who likes to wake up really early to jog and won't let you eat take out every night.", Derek laughs nervously and rubs at the back of his neck.

Stiles' incredulous look does not help the tremors inside him, he hopes they're not too obvious.

"You'd move back to New York with me? Just like that?"

Derek smiles and nods, "Just tell me when and I'll get everything settled."

"Why would you do that?" Stiles' tone is wholly confused, but there is hope in his eyes that makes Derek want to drown in them.

"Because I want you to be happy.", Derek bites his lips trying to not say too much and overwhelming Stiles, "Plus, you're not the only one who's gotten bored of the same routine. There really aren't that many assholes who skip court or owe bonds for me to bring in."

He chuckles and tries to turn and start walking again when Stiles pulls him to a stop once again.

"And if I decided to stay?"

"Then we'll stay. I don't know if you've noticed, Stiles, but you're basically my best friend."

It's true, after settling back in Beacon Hills again and the pack welcoming him back, he surprisingly took solace in Stiles' company more than the others. Maybe, it was because they knew enough about each other to understand the choices they made to get to where they were. Maybe, it was because they decided to look forward rather than live in the past. Maybe, it was just how it was meant to be from the start but they weren't ready at the time.

Stiles chuckles and steps away from Derek to continue walking with a resigned expression that makes Derek wonder, what did he say wrong?

"Right, don't tell Scott, though. He'll issue a challenge to remain the sole owner of such title."

Stiles made that last part sound like a vile word and it made Derek think that maybe Stiles didn't like their relationship as it was right now, maybe he wanted more just like Derek.

"I'm pretty sure I'd win.", Derek teases as he studies Stiles' reactions.

"No doubts about that, big guy. But let's not break our poor Alpha's heart now.", Stiles smiles, but it doesn't reach his eyes.

"I can promise I'll try. Unless..."

Derek keeps the sentences hanging trying to bait him and it works, Stiles looks at him confused with a raised eyebrow, "What?"

Derek looks at him with a fond smile, "Unless, I don't have to fight him for the title of the best friend when I can have another one instead."

Stiles' eyes widen, "Like?"

Derek shrugs his shoulders and suggests, "Boyfriend?"

Stiles' steps falter a bit and he turns to Derek with a cocky smile, "Is this your unorthodox way of asking me out, Der?"

Derek moves in front of Stiles smoothly blocking his path and rest his hands on Stiles' hips with a cocky grin of his own, "Only if you say yes."

Stiles gulps at Derek's sudden moves, but quickly meets him by wrapping his arms around Derek's neck bringing their faces closer, "Well then, I guess I can free up my tight schedule for a boyfriend. But, only if said boyfriend likes cuddles," Stiles brushes the tip of his nose against Derek's own and whispers seductively, "all kinds."

Derek's knees almost betray him at the onslaught of scents and warmth radiating from Stiles. All sweet and alluring that has his mouth watering and his pants feeling slightly tighter. 

Derek brings one hand up to caress Stiles jaw as he asks softly, "How many types of cuddles are there?"

Stiles runs his fingers through Derek's hair at the back of his neck making him suppress a growl at how amazing it feels and judging by Stiles' eyes darkening he knows he understands what's it doing to Derek.

"Only one way to find out," Stiles slides his nose across Derek's stubbled cheek till his lips reach his ear to whisper, "boyfriend."

Derek is pretty sure his ears must be red, but all he can focus on is Stiles neck right close to his mouth.

"I'm in.", he whispers against Stiles skin and moving to align his lips to Stiles for a kiss.

Stiles smiles and says against their lips, "Not yet, but that's one."

Derek groans and presses his forehead against Stiles with his eyes close, "I'm already regretting this."

Stiles laughs, "No, you're not."

"I'm really not."

Derek smiles before finally pressing his lips against Stiles'. It's simple with a chaste press until Stiles yanks a bit on his hair and Derek groans allowing Stiles to push forward and deepened the kiss.

It's a while before they break the kiss and even a while longer before they stop looking at each other with fond expressions. They continue their way back to the apartment with linked hands and similar smiles.

After that, Derek doesn't know what will happen. He only knows that he'll make sure to always be like this. Next to the one he loves holding on tight.

**Author's Note:**

> If you finished this, kudos to you. I'm trying to get back into writing since I have a laptop again. Thank you for reading and I hoped you enjoyed it! Kudos and comments are welcomed!


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